Nimble Forward
nimblestudio.com ↗ Join Nimble Forward
A woman at her kitchen table, calm and listening
Nimble Forward · In progress

Kom op tegen KankerAnswers when they matter most

Partner
Kom op tegen Kanker
Field
Wellbeing · Cancer care
Delivered
Free proof of concept
Format
Pro bono
POC · Co-pilotHuman sends
Draft ready, with 3 sources for the Kankerlijn colleague
POC · WhatsAppConnected
From a WhatsApp question to the Kankerlijn inbox, with context

Technology that listens before it talks.

Kom op tegen Kanker is the Flemish organisation that stands beside people with cancer and the people around them. It funds research, runs the Kankerlijn helpline and mobilises thousands of volunteers. Today, it is moving its focus even closer to everyday support for patients and families.

We first worked together in 2023, on a design sprint for the Kankerlijn. The timing was not right for a build then. Nimble Forward gave us a second chance to do it properly. We delivered a free proof of concept: an AI-enabled ticketing system for the Kankerlijn, with a co-pilot connected to a WhatsApp experience. Something the team can use and test, instead of reading it on a slide.

The guiding question of the track is theirs, and it is the right one: where can AI support our people-centred approach?

Opportunity

Kom op tegen Kanker’s perspective

  • The ambition is shifting from funding research toward supporting patients and families, every day.
  • A large platform renovation takes most of the digital team’s attention for the coming year.
  • New initiatives need to connect to the organisation’s multi-year plan for 2027.
  • AI only has a place if it strengthens the human approach. Throwing everything through a language model is not an answer.

The sector’s perspective

  • Helplines, volunteers and online communities hear needs long before they show up in any report.
  • Those signals are scattered across channels and teams, so bottlenecks in care are spotted late.
  • AI chat tools launched with immature guardrails erode trust, exactly where trust matters most.
  • Patient organisations rarely get the first build. Commercial sectors do.

What we delivered, and what comes next

A working proof of concept. An AI-enabled Kankerlijn inbox, with a co-pilot connected to WhatsApp.

The free proof-of-concept track delivered two connected pieces: a ticketing system for the Kankerlijn with an AI co-pilot, and a WhatsApp experience that flows straight into it. Both sit next to the platform renovation, not on top of it. The radar ideas below are what we can build out next, together with Kom op tegen Kanker.

01 · AI-enabled Kankerlijn inbox

In progress · POC

One inbox for every channel. A co-pilot that never speaks for you.

The heart of the free proof of concept. A helpdesk built around the Kankerlijn: WhatsApp, chat, e-mail and phone notes in one inbox, sorted by urgency instead of arrival time. Inside each conversation, the co-pilot reads along, summarises, finds the right public source and drafts a reply. The colleague decides, edits and sends.

  • Every suggestion cites its source, from reimbursement rules to Kom op brochures
  • Nothing is sent without a person; the reply box stays with the colleague
  • Each closed conversation feeds a theme into the radar, anonymised

Proof-of-concept screen, interactive: scroll the conversation, try “Invoegen”. Conversation is fictional.

kankerlijn · inbox concept
Jouw inbox 8 open
Zoek gesprekken
OpenWachtGesloten
Sorteer: urgentieAlle kanalen ▾
LV
Lies V.

Mijn man is net klaar met zijn chemo. Kan hij deeltijds terug gaan werken?

2m
JD
Jonas D.

Ik kan ’s nachts niet slapen sinds de diagnose van mijn moeder.

6mEmotie
AN
Anoniem

Wordt een pruik terugbetaald als ik al een hoofddoek kocht?

14mPraktisch
MK
Marc K. · belnotitie

Terugbelverzoek: vragen over vervoer naar bestraling in Leuven.

32mTerugbellen
SB
Sara B.

🎙️ Spraakbericht (0:42) · werk en inkomen

1u
EW
Els W.

Bedankt voor gisteren. Mag ik de brochure over vermoeidheid nog krijgen?

2uPraktisch
TR
Tom R.

Ik ben vrijwilliger en wil een signaal doorgeven over wachttijden.

3u
LV
Lies V.WhatsApp Partner van patiënt eerste contact
Afsluiten
Samenvatting door co-pilot

Partner van een patiënt die net de chemo afrondde. Vraagt of progressieve werkhervatting kan. Toon is bezorgd maar praktisch. Geen medische vraag.

werk & inkomenmantelzorgerNL · Oost-Vlaanderen
Vandaag, 14:21
LV
Lies V. · WhatsApp
Goeiemiddag. Mijn man is net klaar met zijn chemo. Hij wil graag terug gaan werken maar hij is nog zo moe.
LV
Lies V. · 14:22
Kan dat eigenlijk deeltijds? Of verliest hij dan zijn uitkering?
AM
An M. · Kankerlijn · 14:25
Wat goed dat u even aanklopt, Lies. Dat kan vaak, ja. Mag ik u een paar vragen stellen over zijn werksituatie?
LV
Lies V. · 14:27
Ja natuurlijk. Hij is bediende, al twaalf jaar bij hetzelfde bedrijf. Zijn werkgever is heel begripvol.
Interne notitie · An M.
Lijkt een standaard progressieve werkhervatting. Brochure werk & kanker meesturen en terugbelmoment voorstellen.
LV
Lies V. · 14:29
Moet hij dat zelf aanvragen of doet de dokter dat?
LV
Lies V. is aan het typen…
Antwoord via WhatsAppNotitieAlleen jij kan versturen
Toon: warm Versturen▾

02 · Connected to WhatsApp

In progress · POC

People ask on WhatsApp. The Kankerlijn answers from one inbox.

The co-pilot is connected to a WhatsApp experience on Kom op tegen Kanker’s verified account. Practical questions get a sourced answer, never medical advice. When a question is emotional, urgent or unclear, the conversation moves straight into the Kankerlijn inbox, with its full context, so nobody has to tell their story twice. Replies drafted with the co-pilot go back out on WhatsApp, sent by a person.

  • Clear scope, shown in the chat, not hidden in terms
  • Warm handoff on emotion, urgency or uncertainty
  • Observable: every answer can be reviewed by the team

Proof-of-concept screens. Conversations are fictional.

03 · Signal radar on WhatsApp

Next, after the POC

Two questions, in the app people already use every day.

After a call with the Kankerlijn or a volunteer visit, people get one short WhatsApp message from Kom op tegen Kanker’s verified account. They answer with a tap, a few words or a voice note. A WhatsApp Flow keeps it to three gentle questions, without an app or a login.

  • Opt-in only, one message, easy to stop
  • Voice notes welcome, transcribed and anonymised
  • Every answer becomes a signal on the radar, never a profile

Concept screens for the next phase. Conversation and names are fictional.

04 · The radar for the team

Next, after the POC

Hear what people need, before it becomes a bottleneck.

WhatsApp answers, Kankerlijn themes, volunteer notes and social channels come together in one anonymised view. The radar does not read individual stories out loud. It shows which questions are growing, where, and who in the organisation should know.

  • Themes clustered across four sources
  • Rising and new topics flagged for a human to review
  • Built to feed the 2027 plan with evidence

Concept screen for the next phase. Data shown is illustrative.

voelsprieten · concept

Wat leeft er deze maand?

30 dagenAlle bronnenVlaanderen
Signalen2.416geanonimiseerd
Via WhatsApp612+41%
Stijgend5te bekijken
Doorgezet12naar teams
Thema’s per week, per bron
WhatsAppKankerlijnVrijwilligersSociale media
Opvallend
Terug naar werk na behandelingWhatsApp · Kankerlijn
Stijgend
Mantelzorgers ’s avondsKankerlijn
Nieuw
Terugbetaling pruikenSociale media
Stabiel
Wachttijd psycholoogVrijwilligers
Stijgend

What the proof of concept doesn’t do

Not a chatbot that replaces people.

The first boundary is clear: the Kankerlijn stays human. AI may prepare, sort and suggest, but it does not comfort, diagnose or decide. The second boundary is timing. Nothing here depends on the platform renovation being finished, and nothing asks the digital team to stop what they are doing.

The proof of concept is deliberately focused: one inbox, one co-pilot, one channel, built fast and tested with real colleagues. What it proves decides what we build out next. A smaller assistant that truly helps is worth more than a broad one that disappoints.

The principle

Faster answers for people. More time to care for the people who give them.

What we learned so far

5 things discovery taught us.

01

Start from the human approach.

The question was never “where can we use AI?” It was where AI can support people who already do this work well. That changes what you build first, and what you never build at all.

02

Most questions are not medical.

In the 2023 sprint, almost half of the helpline’s conversations were about emotional and psychological topics. An assistant that only knows facts would miss the point. A colleague who has more time would not.

Ik ben eigenlijk vooral bang dat het terugkomt.
Handoff

Een medewerker van de Kankerlijn neemt het over.

03

Guardrails before reach.

Fast AI pilots in care have gone live with weak guardrails, and were then used only cautiously. We would rather launch narrow and trusted than broad and doubted.

Scope van de assistent
Praktische vragenmet bron
Ja
Medisch adviesaltijd naar arts
Nee
Emotie of twijfelwarme handoff
Mens
04

Fit the renovation, don’t fight it.

A digital team in the middle of a platform migration has no room for a second big project. The best first proof of concept is the one with almost no impact on them, and a lot of energy for everyone else.

Impact op digitaal teamLaaglos van migratie
Past in plan 2027Jabewijs voor keuzes
05

Experience beats a presentation.

Our first track ended in a plan. This time we delivered a working proof of concept, pro bono, that the team can try with their own hands. Using it beats discussing it. What works can grow; what does not, we drop.

Where we are

What’s next?

The free proof of concept is delivered: an AI-enabled Kankerlijn inbox, with a co-pilot connected to WhatsApp. Next, we build it out together with Kom op tegen Kanker, starting from what the team learns using it, with the signal radar as a natural next step. We will share how it goes here, including the parts that do not work.

Help carry this
2023

Design sprint for the Kankerlijn

Our first collaboration. A clear picture of the helpline, no build yet.

17 Sep 2026

Announced at NimbleFest

“Together with Kom op tegen Kanker, for a start.”

Sep 2026

Choosing the focus

From four ideas to one: the Kankerlijn inbox with a co-pilot, connected to WhatsApp.

Delivered

Free proof of concept

AI-enabled ticketing for the Kankerlijn, with the co-pilot connected to a WhatsApp experience.

Now

Testing with the Kankerlijn

Colleagues use the proof of concept and tell us what helps.

Next

Build it out together

Grow what works, then add the signal radar.

Next partnership

Nest Invest A home to start from